<p><br /> Monarch butterfly colonies in Mexico more than doubled in size this winter after bad storms devastated their numbers a year ago according to conservationists.<br /> </p><p><br /> Countless butterflies make a fabled 2,000-mile journey each year from Canada, to warmer weather in central Mexico, but the size of that migration can vary wildly.<br /> </p><p><br /> Researchers recorded fewer of the orange and black insects arriving in Mexico last year than ever before - but the butterfly colonies increase by 109 per cent this year, to cover roughly 10 acres of forest.<br /> </p><p><br /> Omar Vidal, director of the Mexico branch of the World Wildlife Fund said: "During the previous season, we had the smallest amount of forest covered by the butterflies in 17 years. So I think this is good news and we are seeing the forest covered by butterflies doubled this year."<br /> </p><p><br /> But while the Monarch colonies rebounded this winter, it is still the fourth thinnest year for the butterfly since researchers started census-taking in 1993.<br /> </p><p><br /> Illegal loggers have picked away roughly three per cent of a 138,000 acre reserve since it was created in 2000, but officials say they now have that illicit harvest under control.<br /> </p><p><br /> Severe winter weather linked to climate change is more of a long-term threat but conservationists are optimistic butterflies will be able to cope in the long term if their natural habitat is protected.<br /> </p>
